Riverdale #7: Dilton vs. the "end" of the world

[alicemacher]

If you saw the first season of Riverdale, you may recall its version of Dilton Doiley isn't the genial, well-liked genius of the comics, but a somewhat disturbed survivalist. This month's issue of the show's tie-in comic takes a closer look at him. Warning for child abuse.


Four pages from Riverdale #7. Story by Aaron Allen and Will Ewing, art by Thomas Pitilli.







Everyone in the class laughs at Dilton... except Betty, who's genuinely worried about his mental health and has Jughead talk with him. Jughead gains Dilton's confidence by pretending to believe him; in return, Dilton invites him that Thursday inside the shelter he built with his dad, though he's exasperated that Jug's brought Hot Dog in with him.

Once they're inside, Jughead asks why Dilton and his father are on such a survival kick. The answer: when Dilton was about eight, he lost his uncle (on his dad's side) to unexpected rapids during a scouting trip. Mr. Doiley decided that neither he nor his son would ever be caught unprepared for disaster again, and thus subjected Dilton to an escalating series of trials.







Jughead, unable to reach Betty by phone to get Dilton some help (the shelter blocks every kind of radiation), tries to leave, only to find Dilton's locked the two of them in... and doesn't plan on opening the door for "three to five years." Now we see why Jug brought Hot Dog. One well-trained doggie tackle later, Jughead has the key. Dilton, convinced the end has already come, begs his friend not to open the door, but of course:

Comments

[kamino_neko]

Dilt's surprisingly...uninsane, here.

[icon_uk]

The Four Horsemen? Is this a crossover with Sleepy Hollow? Because that might actually be a fun event! :)